Several people were killed this weekend in Gaza City during violent clashes between Hamas security forces and members of an armed clan, several sources reported Monday.
Skirmishes broke out for the first time last week between the Palestinian group and the Doghmush clan after a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect.
On Sunday evening, exchanges of gunfire took place in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza, according to witnesses who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, citing fears for their safety.
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“About 200 members of the (Hamas) security forces were present and fought until they managed to completely overpower” the clan members, a local resident said.
“There were deaths and injuries among members of the (Doghmush) family, but also martyrs and injuries among the security forces,” he added.
Another neighbor gave a similar account, saying calm had only returned to the area around 9:30 p.m. (1830 GMT).
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A source within the Hamas-run Interior Ministry in Gaza acknowledged that there had been deaths on both sides.
Accusing the Doghmush clan of being affiliated with Israeli forces and of having committed several murders, the ministry source indicated that around sixty members of the family had been arrested.
The family denied any collaboration with Israel, but acknowledged in a statement that some of its members had committed “transgressions”, without further details. He further accuses Hamas security services of targeting all its members indiscriminately.
“In recent days, it was enough to belong to the Doghmush family to be shot in the legs, killed, arrested or burned down your house,” Abu al-Hassan Doghmush, a senior figure in the clan, said on Facebook.
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After taking power in the Gaza Strip in 2007, Hamas had repeated violent clashes with Gaza clans, notably the Doghmush.
On Sunday, Gaza’s Interior Ministry announced the opening of a “general amnesty period” for “members of criminal gangs” who had not committed murders during the war.
Since the ceasefire came into force on Friday, AFP journalists have observed the deployment of Hamas security forces in several urban areas, in markets and along roads in the Gaza Strip.
